on the trail of the archaic revival

This site is not a just recipe website, although thats what it comes across as. What we are really sharing here are techniques: some of which our ancestors perfected over years and years, all over the world. Fermentation, soaking grains, beneficial herbs, bone broth, & preserving food are all part of what we like to call 'the archaic revival'. We also serve up ideas, challenges and neat foods and vegetables that you may not have tried.

Our priority is to use fresh organic produce, dairy, grains and meats. We begin with the groceries available to us (and that we can afford), preferably at a local farmers market and/or co-op. Once we have our ingredients, then we either look them up in the index of one of our fave cookbooks, or barge ahead on inspiration. One thing we are sure of - organic just tastes (feels!) better. Because we really love food, its all about using wonderful ingredients.

connecting food to farming

Its difficult to over-estimate the value of farmers and their endeavors. Given the importance of their work to our health, they would seem to deserve all our affection and more. We are encouraged by the recent trend away from big agriculture and monoculture. The small (and large) organic farms that are cropping up all around the world are making life better for their communities, and maybe for all of us. Organic meat, cheese, wine and beer are also making inroads to modern life. Sometimes the word 'conscious' comes up in place of organic: this word denotes the sense of personal responsibility that may lead to a better future.

contact us

We welcome your input, comments, submissions and suggestions. If you have questions about a recipe, life in northern california or kung-fu cooking, we would be happy to answer them. mail at wonderfulingredients dot com

wow! party scone

this is my creative take on heidi swansons mega scones from 101cookbooks (a forever inspiring recipe site). for the original, i recommend heading over to her site.

as for me, it seems i never have enough flour on hand and lately have been getting into grinding up raw oat groats (always have those on hand) in my vitamix. even though i don’t have the special grain grinder, as long as i use 2 cups or less of grain, it works and wow, its pretty neat to grind up fresh flour! this simple simple recipe makes two mega scones, bake one off now and bake the other in the afternoon to take over to a friends house... as for the milk and filling choices, use what you've got, whats exciting, its an easy place to be daring and experimental. the cardamon and lemon zest were a perfect marriage here, we were all pretty happy.

Cut the butter & return to the freezer, zest the lemon and preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, softly mix flours, baking powder and salt. transfer to a food processor or vitamix (in batches), cut in butter till mixture resembles pea-sized crumbles. mix in sugar. measure out milk in a pint mason jar (or whatever), add lemon zest and vanilla, mix, then slowly add to dry mixture. stir together with a large spoon, until the mixture just begins to come together. added a little dash of flour if need and knead once or twice against the side of the bowl. split the dough in half, setting one aside (pat out into a thick rectangle, wrap and freeze for up to a week if you want). on a floured surface, roll out one of the halves to a rectangle about 11x10" and 1/2" thick. chop up the peaches and mix w/ the raspberries. set half the dough and half the fruit mix to the side, this will be for the 2nd party scone.

Slather half the remaining fruit mixture down the middle third of the dough slab. gently fold the left side over the middle and spread w/ remaining fruit. now, fold the right side over the left (think letter). slide your folded package onto a parchment lined baking sheet, brush the top w/ milk and sprinkle w/ a little raw sugar before slipping into the oven. bake for 25 minutes. remove from oven, let cool a bit. i sliced up the scone loaf after it cooled for about 30 minutes, gathered friends and hot coffee and we ate it up, yum.

*tip: i always keep a few sticks of butter in the freezer for such pastry endeavors. this time i took out my frozen chunk, first thing, cut it up, then stuck it back in the freezer in a small metal bowl till i was ready for it... worked out nicely.